


she knew him for a summer

by firesidebi



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Mild Sexual Content, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Pre-Canon, more of me projecting my own headcanons than anything else, the amphitrite stuff is background and vague, this is all tumblr user gr33kg0ds fault for making me so invested in their relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:06:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24781267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firesidebi/pseuds/firesidebi
Summary: "He had now noticed her for a second time. This was quite unusual for him, as he had managed to break the long standing habit of glancing in the direction of mortals. He was quite content with observing a particularly well-looking one every now and then but he had finally begun to congratulate himself on the fact that he was now able to let them slip from his mind. It had been a few decades since he and his brothers promised not to entangle themselves with humans and he was quite positive that none of them had broken that particular oath."---Or how a god falls from grace and how a mortal achieves infamy.
Relationships: Amphitrite/Poseidon (Percy Jackson), Sally Jackson/Poseidon (Percy Jackson)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 36





	she knew him for a summer

_Day 2_

He had now noticed her for a second time. This was quite unusual for him, as he had managed to break the long standing habit of glancing in the direction of mortals. He was quite content with observing a particularly well-looking one every now and then but he had finally begun to congratulate himself on the fact that he was now able to let them slip from his mind. It had been a few decades since he and his brothers promised not to entangle themselves with humans and he was quite positive that none of them had broken that particular oath. 

It was hard at first, glancing past the mortals. He had never quite realized how much his eyes seemed to linger on them until he was told he was no longer allowed to. The first couple of years were hard, especially when _they_ approached _him_. He was not used to resisting the urge to offer a beautiful girl a crooked grin, not used to having to restrain flashing his sea-green eyes in the direction of a handsome mortal man. He knew that he was probably getting along better than Zeus but that did not mean that he was entirely without suffering. But as the years went on it became easier and easier. Now, on the off chance that he visited the mortal world, he was used to rejecting the individuals that attempted to throw themselves at him. He no longer felt the overwhelming desire to approach a beautiful human and woo them away from whomever was already occupying their time. He was content with observing. 

He was strolling on the shore when he once again saw the young woman with long black curls and warm brown skin. The sun had set not too long ago and the pier was filled with the sounds of mortals laughing and cheering over the various games and rides they were occupying themselves with. The beach was no longer as crowded as it had been earlier that same day and he was quite content with the ambient noise of the boardwalk and waves around him. However, the noise was soon interrupted by a shriek. Jumping slightly, he turned around and glanced over at a small group entertaining themselves around a tiny bonfire. Laughter was now coming from the group as a girl with blonde hair tied up in a ponytail shoved her friend, who was shaking with laughter. Even from his distance, he was able to notice how her laugh made her whole body shake, causing her curls to bounce around her shoulders. In the midst of her laughter she glanced up in his direction and the two made eye contact. He quickly looked away, pretending not to notice how her eyes softened with recognition from their encounter the previous day. He continued to stroll down the beach. 

_Day 8_

“You know you are going to have to tell me your name eventually Mr. Stranger,” she said as she waded through the water. “It’s not fair that I’ve told you mine and you keep holding yours against me.”

He chuckled and splashed some water in her direction, causing her to stumble back in a poor attempt to evade it. 

“I don’t understand why you insisted on going in the water if every time I go to splash you-.”

“We’ve already had this discussion Fish Boy,” she laughed. “If I wanted to get wet I would go under the water myself.”

“Did you just call me Fish Boy?” he asked incredulously. 

She offered him a radiant grin that he was growing more and more fond of as the days passed on. At first it had been a fleeting sense of satisfaction any time he managed to pull one out of her, but now he began to notice that he was going out of his way to see if he could produce the reaction from her. 

“Don’t pretend that I haven’t noticed how they swarm around you from time to time. For a public beach they don’t seem to really know to stay away from the shore.”

“It’s not my fault that they’re drawn to me,” he huffed. And it was true, it wasn’t his fault that they came over to him so close to the mortals. He was their ruler and they were his subjects, of course they would come over to him for aid or out of curiosity. 

“Are you sure that you haven’t laced yourself with fish food?” she asked. 

“Believe me, they hate that stuff,” he said. “Unless a fish has only grown up without any other alternative those thin flakes are absolutely disgusting compared to what they could be having.”

“And you know this how?” she laughed.

He turned to face her and noticed that she had moved closer to him yet again. Despite the protests from his splashing, she still seemed to be drawn to him. He didn’t know if it was because of his godly-ness or if she simply liked to be in close proximity to him. A small part of him hoped for the later. 

“I know this Sally Jackson,” he smirked. “Because as you have so kindly pointed out, the fish like to converse with me.”

She rolled her eyes at him and waded deeper into the water. 

“Don’t tell me then,” she said. “But mark my words Fish Boy, I will find out your secrets!”

He let out a laugh of his own as she dove into the water, purposely kicking her legs up to splash him. 

_Day 20_

She had seen him. Of course, mortals were always prone to viewing the actions of gods but the mist covered it up. He had seen it over the millenia, the mist disguising his conflicts both on land and in the sea. How many times had he been battling one of the many monsters that had resurged from Tartarus for it to be reported as nothing more than a sudden hurricane on the mortal news? That was the point of the mist after all, for the mortals not to see. For them not to have any inkling of the godly world.

But Sally had _seen_ him. 

These last two weeks had been dangerous for him. He knew he should not be getting close with any mortal but for some reason he still couldn’t manage to break whatever was forming between him and Sally Jackson. She was enchanting like no mortal had ever been before. She was carefree and did not seem to care that those around them would falter while sparing a passing glance at him. She did not hesitate to roll her eyes at him when he made a particularly bad joke or glare at him when he still refused to tell her his name (though now she had made a guessing game out of it, hoping to trip him up one day). Her laugh moved through her whole body and he couldn’t help but look her way when he heard the melodic sound escape from her lips. The last two weeks of spending time in the sun with her had caused her already brown skin to darken even further and made the soft sprinkling of freckles adorning her face and shoulders deepen. She was mesmerizing and dangerous and she had somehow seen him through the mist. 

He wasn’t doing anything particularly damning, nothing that would cause the mist to have to exaggerate its hold over the eyes of mortals. The sun had gone down not too long ago and the beach was not particularly crowded in the area he occupied. This was good, for even though he had been spending most of his time on land he still had business to attend to in the sea. A hippocampi had tracked him down to update him on the conflicts in the southern Atlantic. As god of the sea, it was up to him to find a way to settle the issue without too many repercussions on either side. He was caught up in the information and did not hear the soft footsteps from behind him, if he had he may have had time to think of an explanation. 

“So,” he heard a familiar voice drawl and a pit developed in his stomach. “You weren’t lying when you said you talked to the fish.”

Sensing the change in atmosphere, the hippocampi dove back under the water without any preamble and left his king without any means to explain himself. 

“I-,” he stuttered as he turned around to face the shorter woman. She had her arms crossed and was looking up at him with an indiscernible expression. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

Sally rolled her eyes and took a step closer. Although he was immortal and had dealt with conflicts much more heinous than this, he had been absent of the dread that lay within his chest for a long time now. He had grown unfamiliar with the piercing gaze of a mortal that did not worship him. 

“This stuff,” she said, gesturing to the ocean. “This stuff is something I have lived my life seeing. Nobody else seems to see it and everyone calls me crazy. Are you going to be like them?”

“No,” he spluttered. 

He hadn’t even hesitated. 

“Then I want you to start explaining yourself,” Sally said coolly. “I want you to explain what the fuck I just saw, why I am seeing it, and how you’re involved with all of it.” 

“You’re going to think it’s crazy, mortals always do.”

She didn’t falter at his use of the word ‘mortal.’ Instead, she stepped closer to him and looked up at him defiantly. 

“Try me,” she whispered. 

He opened his mouth and then closed it. He didn’t want to scare her off but something in the back of his mind told him that if she wasn’t scared off by now then she would never be. Something even further back told him that it would be better for everyone if she _was_ scared. Shoving aside his thoughts he reached out his hand and took hers into it, silently pleased that she had not flinched away from his touch. 

“Let’s take a walk Sally Jackson,” he said softly. “And I shall tell you everything.” 

_Day 29_

It had been almost a month since he had been drawn to Sally. It had been over a week now that she knew of his identity and everything else that came with it. But she had not ran from him or his proclamation that he was ‘Poseidon the Almighty God of the Sea.’ She had taken his words in stride and did not interrupt him once during their entire conversation. Sally had saved all her questions for the end. 

_“Why am I able to see through the mist?”_

_“So that first day I saw you, the trident you were holding wasn’t a prop?”_

_“My parents were killed in an unexplained crash, is that the fault of your brother?”_

_“Why are you here?”_

Of all the questions she had posed he had tried to give her an honest explanation for each of them. He didn’t know why she could see through the mist, nor if his brother was involved in any of the suffering she had gone through. The only question that had remained unanswered was her inquiry about his presence. He didn’t want to lie to her and say he didn’t know, he knew well enough why he had decided to dwell in the mortal world for so much longer than he allowed himself these past couple of decades. He knew that every time she leaned on him he could feel the same spot she had rested herself burning that very night back in his palace. He knew that everytime she looked up at him he felt as if he had found something that had been missing for a long time. Every smile and laugh that he brought out of her presented him with a deep sense of satisfaction that he was the one able to make her react in such a way. 

He knows why he is here. And he thinks that she knows to. 

_Day 35_

They’re drinking and he can imagine the jibes that Dionysus would be sending his way if he could see him. He prided himself on not overly indulging himself at parties and gatherings on Olympus, leaving that to Dionysus and Apollo or even Aphrodite if it was a particularly good party. 

The party he was at currently did not even begin to scratch the surface of extravagant. However, what this party had that others in the past had lacked was Sally Jackson. 

When Sally had invited him to the bonfire party he hadn’t really expected much. That second time he had seen her he had gotten the gist of what it would entail. But he was weak around her and couldn’t reject the opportunity to spend more time with her. When they arrived she introduced him to a couple of people as the mystery guy they had been hearing so much about. 

“So what’s your name mystery man?” Sally’s blonde friend asked while handing him a plastic cup that smelled a bit too strong to be simply a coke. He took a sip and tried not to grimace. Definitely too strong to be just a coke. 

“Does it really matter?” he asked. “It’s not like anyone here will be sober enough to remember it.” 

Sally gave him a look while the blonde girl blinked at him before letting out a laugh. Next to her, the boy with his hand around her waist was also laughing at his remark. 

“Oh man,” the boy smiled. “I understand why Sally likes you so much, you’re hot and snarky.”

“I’m not meaning to be snarky,” he replied. “I’m simply stating the truth.” 

He downed the rest of his cup while the blonde and boy laughed some more over his words. He couldn’t tell if they actually thought he was that funny or if they were just that intoxicated. Luckily, he didn’t have to ponder that thought for long, as Sally had grabbed his arm and was steering him towards the fire where the music was considerably louder. At some point during their short walk over there he had accumulated another drink courtesy of his escort who now also held a plastic cup of not-coke in her hand. 

“Come on Fish Boy,” she said while knocking back the rest of her drink before tossing it on the sand. “Dance with me.”

“I hope you plan on picking that up,” he answered as she put her arms around him. “Litter and pollution are some of my biggest problems right now and I would hate to be seen with someone who so carelessly disregards the environment.” 

“Don’t worry Poseidon, I’ll clean up all of my garbage if you do me the honor of dancing with me.” 

She smiled and began to move inviting him to place his hands upon her hips as she moved to rhythm. He hoped that the light of the fire and the alcohol made it so she wasn’t able to see him flush at the sound of her using his name. Taking a breath he quickly chugged the rest of his drink before tossing his own cup down on the ground. He placed his hands on her hips and guided her closer to him. He let out a laugh of his own as Sally took his hand and made him twirl her.

_Day 36_

Dionysus would definitely be laughing at him if he could see just how much a drunken fool he was in this moment. The party was technically still going on but somehow he had drunk enough to make himself tipsy, a goal not so easily obtained by a god. Sally was also slightly intoxicated but not so much that she needed to be carried back to the cabin she had rented out for the summer. Still, she didn’t hesitate to take him up on his offer of steadying her as he walked her home. 

“Such a gentleman you are,” she smirked when he had asked. 

She fumbled with her keys when they arrived but was able to unlock the door without any assistance. He tried not to let his curiosity shine as he took in the place that she had made her home for the past month. The kitchen was small and there was no table to eat at. There was however a small, dingy looking couch and television. Scattered around the kitchen counters and couch were a handful of books that he recalled Sally mentioning to him on a couple of occasions. 

“It’s not much,” she said. He noticed that she looked a little bit bashful as she noticed him taking in everything. “It’s all I have at the moment but I’ve done my best within the renting parameters.” 

“I think it’s perfect,” he said. He guessed it was the right thing to say because she quickly turned around and moved toward the kitchen, trying to hide her blush in the process. 

“Can I get you anything to drink? I’m not familiar with what gods need to do to sober up.”

“Some water would be nice,” he said. He moved on over to the kitchen. Sally didn’t seem to notice his change in location and so when she turned to walk back over to him she jumped, causing some of the water to spill out of the glass she had poured for him. 

“Crap, I’m so sorry,” she apologized. “I swear I didn’t mean to spill something on you.” 

He chuckled and took the glass from her hand, drinking the remaining water left in the cup. Without saying a word he lifted his free hand and ever so slightly summoned the spilled water back into the glass. He put the glass down on the counter and met her eyes which had finally started to look like what he was used to seeing out of mortals. 

“So,” she whispered. “You really are a god.”

“Did you not believe me?” he asked, his voice softer than it had been before. 

“I believed you,” she sighed. “But still…”

“Still?” he asked. 

“It’s still crazy,” she explained. “I mean, I go my whole life having all this weird stuff happening around me and then you show up and offer an explanation for it? What do you gain by doing that?”

He could hear the unspoken question in her words. _Why are you here?_

“I didn’t offer you an explanation to gain anything,” he said. “I offered you one because you deserved it.”

“Why are you still here then? I have my explanation, the gods are real. Monsters are real. They’re real and powerful and have been following me my entire life.”

“Do you want me to go?” he asked in a whisper. He could tell that she was getting frustrated and confused. He knew that performing parlor tricks with the water brought that out in mortals but he hadn’t been thinking. He was with her and he was slightly tipsy and it had been so long since he had allowed himself to feel this way about a mortal. A mortal that could see him clearer than anyone had ever been able to. But if she wanted him gone he could do that. He could leave for her. 

“I don’t know,” she confessed after a moment. “You’ll have to leave at some point right?”

“Yes,” he said. He would not sugar coat anything for her and she was correct in her assumption. He would have to leave at some point. 

“When?”

“I don’t know.” 

(And he didn’t.)

“But I can stay right now.” 

(And he could.)

She looked up at him and studied him for a while but he didn’t stop to question it. He could see her brows furrowing while trying to figure him out and process their entire fucked up situation. He was a god and she was a mortal. He would have to leave her and it would pain him to do so. He was not meant for the land and she was not meant for the sea. 

“Stay,” she whispered as her brows unfurrowed. 

He nodded his head before leaning downwards and pulling her face to his. He no longer cared about the agreement or the prophecy that threatened Olympus. All he cared about was how soft her lips felt against his and how perfectly she fit into his arms as he lifted her up.

_Day 57_

The sound of the rain softly hitting the roof of the cabin was muffled by the sound of her laughter. 

“You mean to tell me,” Sally laughed. “You mean to tell me that all these years you have lived you have never, not once, made pancakes?”

“I didn’t think it would be that hard!” he scoffed. 

“It’s not!” she exclaimed in between her giggles. “Only you could somehow find a way to make the simplest meals turn into rocket science.” 

“Well excuse me for trying to be romantic,” he huffed, now embarrassed by the situation. He turned away from her but felt her touch on his arm. 

“Hey,” she said. He turned to face her and her expression had gone from shifted from amusement to fondness. He felt that familiar sense of pride deep in his chest out of the satisfaction that he was the reason for those softened features. 

“Why don’t I teach you how to make some pancakes,” she offered. “That way the next time you want to be romantic you won’t ruin the kitchen that I’m renting.” 

She took his hand and led him into the kitchen so that they could clean up his mess together. All the while his mind kept whispering, _“I love you. I love you. I love you.”_

_Day 64_

Nevermind a confession of love, this was the dangerous part. 

The way her body writhed underneath his and how her nails scratched down his back as he pushed into her. The sound of his name leaving her lips in-between the tiny moans and pants she let out as he did his best to pleasure her. 

“Fuck,” she moaned. 

And she was fucked. And so was he. The two of them were utterly and completely fucked because despite the pleasure and the want of being wrapped up in her, he knew that this was dangerous. He knew that if he truly loved and cared for her he would have left that night after the bonfire before they got past the point of no return. 

But as she called out his name again and he looked down and saw how utterly wrecked she looked because of what he was doing to her he was able to quell his worries. In front of him was a woman more beautiful than any mortal or god or nymph. Here in this old and used bed was a woman worthy of breaking an oath for. 

_Day 75_

“I have a wife,” he confesses one night, long after they had finished pleasuring each other. She was curled around him and running her fingers up and down his chest as he played with her hair. 

“Amphitrite, right?” she asked. 

“Yes,” he whispered. He was so afraid of her judgement but it did not come. Instead she shifted herself closer to him. 

“Do you love her?”

“I do,” he said. “But differently than how I love you.”

She hummed and nuzzled her face into his side. He knew that this was an invitation to continue on if he wanted to but knew she would not hold it against him if he failed to speak anymore on the matter. 

“She,” he began. “She’s like me. Immortal. She has been around long enough to see the world change and progress. She’s a constant reminder of my own godliness, a reminder that I have a role and duty to fulfill. Part of me is thankful for that, she grounds me in the godly world and is there when I need a reminder of what I am. Eons ago, when I was much younger and full of rage, she was the only one who would be able to calm me down to stop the ocean from spilling out.”

Sally was looking at him now, her head perched up and no longer half-asleep. He was so nervous telling her this but she made no protest at his admissions. 

“I think that when I leave she will be the only person able to quench the rage in me for not being able to stay with you,” he confessed. “I love you so much Sally and it’s going to hurt so much when it’s time for me to go but know that the type of love I have for my wife is a companionship. And that when the ocean rages and then calms it is her stopping me from putting you in any more danger.” 

“Does she know about me?” Sally asks after a long moment of silence. So long that he had begun to think she had fallen asleep. 

“I think she does. I think she suspects. And if she suspects then my brothers may start to suspect.” 

“What aren’t you telling me Poseidon?” she whispers. “Why is it so dangerous?”

And so he tells her about the prophecy and the measures that his brothers and the rest of the gods would go to in order to make sure that it doesn’t come to fruition. He tells her about the oath and the fact that he is the only one to have broken the oath which puts her in so much danger. No other mortal had been able to tempt them, only Sally Jackson. And that power is dangerous. 

_Day 84_

He can’t find it within himself to be upset when she tells him. He can’t find it in himself to be anything but absolutely ecstatic. He takes her into his arms and twirls her around on the shore and it’s so much like the start of their time together. The weather has gotten colder and Amphitrite has already confronted him about his time spent away from home. He knows what this means if she has had to step in. He knows that the others are conversing with her and that she has loyally covered for him despite being so undeserving of that loyalty. 

But when Sally tells him that she’s pregnant, her expression unreadable because of her own lingering fear of his reaction, he can’t help but to take her into his arms and kiss her. It’s only after seeing his own joy that she allows the smile he loves so much to unfurl and lets out a joyous laugh as he whispers how much he loves her into her ear. 

He ignores the slight rumble of thunder in the sky. 

When they get back to the cabin that night they celebrate by eating breakfast for dinner and having a contest to see who can create the most extravagant ice cream sundae. They kiss and have sex and tangle themselves up together in a way that they both have grown used to over the weeks spent like this together. He tells her stories of heroes and skillfully omits the unhappy endings from their stories. He knows that she is well-versed in myths and most likely knows the information he leaves out. He tells her that these demigods all received training and that they’re still able to.

“The camp protects them,” he whispers in her ear as they drift off to sleep. “It trains them and prepares them for the rest of their life.” 

_Day 92_

“You could come with me,” he offers. “I can build you a palace and we can raise our son together, away from the eyes of my brothers and away from the prophecy.”

They stand on the beach, his feet touching the water and hers touching the sand. The hippocampi had come to him that morning, delivering a message from Amphitrite. 

_“Husband,”_ the note read. _“Things are looking bad here. While I understand you have...business in the mortal realm that we can discuss later on, the kingdom grows suspicious of your lack of presence. Triton inquires about your whereabouts and he is not as understanding as I am. Please, I believe it would be in the best interest for everyone if you were able to wrap up your business and return home. Reinstate the fact that you're their king and prevent any more surprise visits from the other Olympians.”_

He offered the note to Sally earlier but she shook her head and gave it back to him. She told him it wasn’t her place to read it and that she understood that it was time. 

“I prepared for this, remember?” she smiled. “When this started I knew you had to leave one day.”

“I knew that too,” he said. “But there’s still a way-,” 

“No Poseidon,” she said firmly. She offered no explanation but he understood. When this whole thing started between them he knew that she was never offering to follow him back to the sea. He was agreeing to stay as long as he could with her and when the time for him to leave came she would let him go. 

How is he supposed to do the same with her?

“Sally I love you so much,” he said. “And I love our child so much. Make sure they know that.”

He had told her that he probably wouldn’t be able to visit either of them. He saw the hurt in her eyes when he had told her but it had to be said, he would be honest with her one last time before leaving. 

She nodded her head and he cupped her face in his hands for one final time. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the forehead and pretended not to hear the shaky gasp she let out at the feeling of his lips on her skin. He wouldn’t indulge himself in her lips. He wouldn’t do that to them, when their parting was already so hard. 

He whispered one last declaration of love before separating himself from her and turning towards the sea. The waves crashed down roughly on the sand, betraying his outrage at the entire situation. But he knew that Amphitrite would be there to help him through this and knew that as long as he walked into the water both Sally and their child would be safe. And that was enough for him. 

**Author's Note:**

> You should check out gr33kg0ds on tumblr for more angsty Sally and Poseidon posts.
> 
> Follow me @firesidebi on tumblr 
> 
> Original Post: https://firesidebi.tumblr.com/post/619044985252249600/she-knew-him-for-a-summer


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